This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In order to support and display a multi-tiered cake, three categories of support system may be used: 1) dowels/straws, 2) plates/pillars and 3) cake stackers. A combination of the three categories can also be used.
Dowels/Straws
Dowel rods are inserted into the lower tiers of a cake, and bear the weight of the tiers above. Dowel rods and straws may include wooden/bamboo dowel rods, plastic poly-dowels, bubble-tea straws and regular drinking straws. Both wooden and plastic types offer food-safe support. For a stacked cake, using cardboard cake boards between the tiers, wooden dowel rods are utilized by sharpening the dowel rod into a point and driving the dowel rod through the cardboard cake board to secure tiers together. Wooden dowel rods are cut easily and cleanly using wire cutters, sharp shears or a small saw. They are economical and strong.
While some cake stacking systems only use wooden dowel rods, other cake stacking systems use wooden dowel rods reinforced with the strategic placement of plastic dowel rods or straws. Plastic dowel rods or straws are generally wider in diameter and offer greater stability and more support per dowel rod or straw. Therefore, fewer dowel rods or straws are needed. Plastic dowel rods or straws are easy to cut to size with a serrated knife. However, plastic dowel rods or straws take up more cake space, and therefore, have an effect on the number of servings per tier.
Each level of a tiered cake needs dowel rods or straws for support. Tiers that are directly stacked on each other with no separation by plates and pillars are generally further stabilized with an additional center dowel rod to prevent shifting. A center dowel rod includes one sharpened end. In one embodiment, the center dowel rod is pushed through all tiers and cake boards to the base of the bottom tier. In another embodiment, the center dowel rod is slightly shorter than a height of two tiers of the cake. If there are three or more tiers without separation by plates and pillars, a sharpened dowel rod is used through the first two tiers and another sharpened dowel rod is used through the second and third tiers.
Plates/Pillars
Another support system uses a plurality of pillars of fixed length and separator plates fitted with pre-formed mounting sockets for the pillars. Each tier of a cake is placed on a separator plate, which is typically 2 inches larger in diameter than the tier of the cake. A separator plate having a diameter that is the same size as the separator plate of the tier above is placed onto the tier below. Pillars are positioned over the mounting sockets on the separator plate. The tier above is placed on top of the pillars, with the mounting sockets of the separator plate of the tier above being aligned with the tops of the pillars below.
Cake Stackers
Another support system is a cake stacker system that generally includes a base plate having a central rod secured thereto, for example, by screws and spacers. A support plate having peripheral rods secured thereto, for example, by screws and spacers, is lowered onto the central rod and rests upon the tier below. The peripheral rods extend from the support plate into the tier below. A cake stacker system may be made, for example, of metal.
A need exists for improved technology, including technology that may address the above described disadvantages. In particular, a need exists for improved technology that facilitates supporting and displaying a multi-tiered cake, and keeps the tiers of the multi-tiered cake secured together without affecting the appearance of a top tier of the multi-tiered cake.